Shim cutter



JOHN J. KNAACK, OF HURDLAND, MISSOURI.

SHIM CUTTER.

Application mea April 2o, 1921'. serial No. 463,039.

automobiles and other mechanisms, the construction of the tool being such that it is rendered especially useful in garages and automobile repair shops where it is often necessary to cut shims out of soft sheet brass. At the present time it is the practice to make these shims by cutting them with ordinary shears, this being a slow and tedious task.

t is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive tool whereby, at one ope-ration, a complete shim of the proper size and shape can be produced.

lith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter deyscribed and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope ot what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings- Figure l is a side elevation of the tool.

Figure 2 is a face view of one of the jaw blocks.

Figure 3 is a tace view of the other jaw block.

Referring to the Figures by characters of reference l designates crossed pivotally connected levers each of which is provided at one end with a handle 2 while its other end is bent to form a jaw, one of the jaws being indicated at 3 while the other jaw has been indicated at 4. The two jaws are extended toward each other and have hat faces adapted to contact when the handles are drawn together. Formed in the meeting faces of the two jaws are transversely extending dove-tailed grooves 5 and 6 respectively and seated in one wall of each groove is a set screw 7 the head of which is exposed upon the outer face of the jaw as shown in Figure 1.

A. dove-tailed block 8 is adapted to *be inserted into one of the grooves, 5, 'and is p provided on its active face with a rib or ribs 9 dening the contour of the shim to be cut. Thisfrib is formed of hard metal preferably sharpened. A block 10, preferably formed of Babbitt metal, and which is dove-tailed as shown, is insertible into the other groove Gand is adapted to present a l lat surface 11 to the rib 9. lt is to be understood that both of these blocks extend throughout the width of the jaws 3 and a and are held ign place by the set screws`7. j

In using the ldevice the sheet metal to be cut into shimsis inserted between the jaws 3 and 4: afterfwhich said jaws are pressed together rmly by means of the handles 2. This will cause the rib or ribs '9 to cut through the metal and bite into the flat surface formed by the block l0. Thus a large number of shims can be quickly cut from the soft sheet brass or other material used and it becomes unnecessary to resortvto the: tedious and laborious process of cutting out the shims with ordinary shears.

It is to be understood that the blocks '8 and 10 can be changed at will, itbeing possible to have aseries of blocks 8 on which dierent arrangements of cutting ribs are provided for producing shims of dilerent sizes and shapes.

What is claimed is A shim cutter including pivotally conaoy nected levers having diverging portions,

jaws integral with said portions and pro-- viding a clearance space between the jaws and the fulcrum of the lever, said jaws having flat faces movable together, there being transverse ydove-tailed grooves in said faces, dove-tailed blocks detachably seated in the rooves, one of the blocks being of soft metal, both blocks having their faces flush with the faces of theil` jews, a cutting rib on one of the blocks cooperating with the soft metal block to out material inserted between the jaws, and set screws extending into the jaws fromthe outer sides thereof and engaging the blocks.

In testnnony that l claim the foregoing es my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN J. KNAAGK. 1Witnesses:

WM. WHITE, CARL WILSON. 

